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3.4.18

Newsletter for 3 April 2018 Rural Australians for Refugees Bellingen and Nambucca Districts

Next Roadside Demo -
Toormina, April 5th 2:30pm

Next market stall -
Valla Beach 7th April

Cuts to asylum seeker
benefits

10 year old finally
receives treatment in Australia

Rules are rules - for
some

UN shocked at
treatment of detainees on Nauru

Roadside
demonstration: Thursday 5th April: Toormina

Our next roadside
demonstration is this Thursday 5th April from 2.30 to 4.00pm in
Toormina. You will find us on Hogbin Drive, about 150 metres from the fire
station in the direction of the airport, opposite the landscape suppliers. We
have lots of placards and banners to share, so please consider coming along to
join us. We must continue to send a clear message to those in power that we
will not stand idly by whilst they continue to punish asylum seekers
and refugees who have fled violence in their home countries to seek
safety in Australia.

Our next market:
Valla Beach, Saturday 7th April

Our next market stall
will be at the Valla Beach market on Saturday from 9.00am
until 1.30 pm. The last market in February was cancelled due to
wet weather, so this will be our first and final opportunity in Valla Beach to
collect signatures on our open letter to the Leader of the Opposition, Bill
Shorten. We will be handing out leaflets, talking to market-goers and selling
our merchandise to support the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown. If you can
help out for an hour or two, then please email Mike at :mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
It would be really helpful to have a few more supporters on Saturday, as
three of our regular helpers will be in Albury for the RAR
conference.

Swingeing cuts to
asylum seekers' benefits

Asylum seekers living
in Australia have been in receipt of the "Status Resolution
Support Services" (SRSS) benefits whilst the government decides on their
claim for protection - a process which can take years! The SRSS provides a
living allowance - usually 89% of Newstart allowance - casework support,
assistance in finding housing, and access to torture and trauma counselling.
The government has now initiated a process for asylum seekers to
"transition out" of these support services from 1st
April. Advocates have warned that these cuts will leave asylum seekers
homeless and destitute. The CEO of the Australian Council of Social
Services, Dr Cassandra Goldie, said that she had heard of parents affected by
the cuts who were skipping meals to provide food and medicine for their
families. She states: "It is appalling that the government is wanting to
cut people off income support entirely. People will become homeless, their
health will suffer and they will be unable to feed themselves."

This is yet
another example of the heartless and punitive approach of our government
towards some of the most vulnerable people in Australia.

Ten-year-old
finally receives treatment in Australia

Two weeks ago, a
ten-year-old boy who is suffering from acute mental health issues was finally
transferred from Nauru to Australia for treatment, following the intervention
of the courts. This child has been seriously unwell for some time, but the
Australian authorities have tried to insist, notwithstanding all the evidence
to the contrary, that he could be adequately treated on Nauru. The government
fought the transfer all the way, and even asked the judge to defer his decision
for a further week. The judge refused the request, insisting that the child,
accompanied by his mother, must be transferred to Australia immediately, as his
life was in danger. The child is now being treated in an acute mental health
facility in Australia. As Barry Cassidy reported on Insiders, the child does
not have a name, but a number - AYX18- which he was given on arrival on Nauru.
Let us remember, too, that this child was fit and healthy when he arrived on
Nauru. His terrible situation is a direct result of our government's inhumane
and punitive policy. We must keep up the fight to end this cruel madness.

In stark contrast to
the above story, it is clear that quite different rules for entry to Australia
apply to certain groups of people. Following extensive requests under freedom
of information legislation, limited details emerged last week about Minister Dutton's
intervention in the case of an au pair arriving at Brisbane airport on 17th
June 2015. The young woman did not have a visa to work as an au pair, but a
quick phone call to an obviously highly connected individual produced an
instant intervention from Minister Dutton who used his wide-ranging discretion
to immediately grant the young woman a working
visa. This is his justification for his ministerial intervention:
"Having regard to this person's particular circumstances and personal
characteristics, I have decided to exercise my discretionary powers.....as
it would be in the public interest to issue this person a visa. I have decided
that as a discretionary and humanitarian act to an individual with
ongoing needsit is in the interests of Australia as a humane and
generous country to grant this person a visa." Such generosity
and humanity clearly does not extend to the many thousands of asylum seekers
languishing in offshore detention and struggling for survival in our major
cities. Dutton's statement is just dripping with hypocrisy, something that we
have come to expect, but must never accept.

UN official
shocked by situation on Nauru

Last week, a UN
official, Indrika Ratwatte, published a report about his recent visit to Nauru.
He states that "the approach taken since 2013 has demonised and punished
people we know need help and protection, evidenced by the fact that the vast
majority have been recognised as refugees. Their continued suffering, with no
end yet in sight for many, is plainly wrong. Worse than this, a policy
that knowingly and unrelentingly harms children for political
reasons is an abomination. There can be no three-word slogans to justify it.
There are no excuses......Good intentions no longer matter. It is time for
action." Indrika Ratwatte reminds us that 40 children have spent their
whole lives in detention on Nauru and that another 60 have spent half their
lives there. This can never be justified, and we need to keep up with our
campaigns, directed at both the government and the opposition, to bring this
shameful chapter in our history to an end.